2013 Sequester Cuts: Funding For Food And Aviation Safety Would Be Cut, White House Details State by State Impact

Congress is out on recess all of August but will have to move swiftly in September to pass a bill to fund the government.
Reuters

The White House, in its campaign to pressure lawmakers to head off the looming budget sequester, has released reports detailing the state-by-state impact it predicts from the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to take effect March 1.

For weeks the Obama administration has stressed the real-world implications of the spending cuts, which are scheduled to start going into effect on Friday. Earlier this month the president pleaded with Congress to put aside its “political dysfunction” in order to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms needed to avoid the stark job losses that would result from those automatic cuts.

“The economy is going in the right direction, and will stay that way as long as there aren’t any more self-inflicted wounds from Washington,” Obama told reporters.

Because such a deal appears to be increasingly unlikely, the White House on Sunday released a new analysis noting “severe impacts” the budget cuts will have on defense and domestic programs – laying out everything from public education to food safety and even aviation safety – across the nation. Including:

Social Programs

Public education: An estimated 10,000 public school teachers would be at risk of losing their jobs, while spending for 7,200 special education teachers and aides would be completely cut. In addition, approximately 70,000 young children would lose access to Head Start.

Food Stamps: About 600,000 women and children would be dropped from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children from March through September.

Homeless programs: More than 100,000 formerly homeless people, including many veterans, would be removed from their emergency housing, putting them at risk of returning to the streets.

Government Services

Food safety: Up to 2,100 fewer food inspections could take place, a particular concern when outbreaks of foodborne illness seem alltoocommon.

Veterans services: The Department of Labor’s Veteran Transition Assistance Program, which serves more than 150,000 veterans a year, would have to reduce operations.

Security and Safety

Law enforcement: The FBI and other law enforcement agencies could be forced to cut more than 1,000 agents.

Aviation safety: The Federal Aviation Administration would lose more than $600 million in funding. Meaning the agency – in charge of ensuring the safety of airplane travel – would either have to drastically cut costs or reduce staff by periodically placing some employees on furlough.

Emergency responders: FEMA would need to reduce funding for state and local grants. Those grants support everything from firefighter jobs, emergency management personnel to the ability to respond to unexpected national disasters like the recent Hurricane Sandy.

Economic Growth

Small business assistance: The Small Business Administration would cut loan guarantees by up to $900 million, constraining the ability of new small business owners to create and maintain employment.

Economic development: More than 1,000 jobs would be loss if the Economic Development Administration does not have the ability to leverage private sector resources that encourage local job creation.